FMCSA to renew ELD exemption for Motion Picture Association

It looks like truckers hauling for the Motion Picture Association won’t have to worry about the electronic logging mandate for another five years.

In a notice scheduled to publish in the Federal Register on Thursday, Nov. 3, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted the movie group a provisional renewal of the exemption that was first granted in 2018.

The exemption allows drivers providing transportation to or from a theatrical or television motion picture production site to record their hours of service on paper logs instead of using an ELD. The renewal is set to take effect Jan. 19, 2023, and run through Jan. 19, 2028.

According to the notice, the exemption affects about 8,300 commercial motor vehicle drivers who work at least part-time for the motion picture industry.

On average, the Motion Picture Association says the drivers spend two hours driving each day, totaling about 40 miles per day.

“Their resulting record-of-duty status is often very complex, as are the driver hours-of-service records that employing motor carriers must keep,” the notice stated. “Through close cooperation, the industry has been able to manage the extensive interchange of paper (records of duty) that this work pattern requires.”

Additionally, the Motion Picture Association says that its drivers are required to submit their record-of-duty status information within 24 hours, instead of the 13-day period typically allowed. The logs are also reviewed by third-party auditing companies.

FMCSA said the motion picture drivers are expected to achieve an equivalent level of safety under the exemption.

“The industry’s drivers generally operate short distances and normally spend much of their time off duty,” FMCSA wrote.

How to comment

Once the notice is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 30 days to comment. To do so, go to Regulations.gov and enter Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0298. LL